RP: An impromptu visit

[rar_percy]

Date: January 16, 1999
Characters: Hestia Jones, Percy Weasley
Location: Ministry of Magic, St. Mungo's
Status: Private
Summary: Percy brings Hestia lunch.
Completion: Complete

Comments

[rar_hestia]

Hestia ignored the rumbling of her stomach. She wanted to finish up her paperwork before lunch so she could start her afternoon rounds straight afterwards. She was scrawling a few notes on the bottom of a chart with her self-inking quill when she heard a light knock on her door.

"Just a minute," she called, finishing her thought. When she was done, she put the chart away, straightened her robes and opened her door. Hestia had been expecting another Healer, or maybe one of the interns, not Percy Weasley standing at her door. She stared at him in shock for a moment before beaming at him.

"Percy! This is a lovely surprise. Come in," she said, ushering him into her office and shutting the door behind him.

[rar_percy]

Percy licked his chapped lips, his mouth suddenly feeling dry as she ushered him inside. He took in the sight of her and half-smiled, trying to keep his eyes from lingering. He suddenly understood the phrase "sight for sore eyes." She looked busy, though, and quite surprised. He probably should have asked before just surprising her. But she said it was lovely, so he'd believe her.

"Hello," he said, adjusting his glasses. "I thought I might answer your owl in person..." he said, trailing off, because the excuse sounded ridiculous even to his own ears, especially now that he couldn't quite remember what he wanted to say about it anyway. "How are you? Busy?"

[rar_hestia]

Percy looked a bit hesitant, and Hestia hoped that he hadn't changed his mind about coming by. "Did you? So tell me, what do you think about the unorthodox mating habits of Welsh dragons?" She asked with a sly grin. "And you've got perfect timing. I just finished off my last chart and was about to take my lunch. So we can have lunch together, if you'd like."

Her glance lingered on his lips and then she frowned. "Percy, are your lips chapped?"

[rar_percy]

Percy caught her sly grin and grinned back. "I think we could all learn a little from the Welsh dragons," he said with a slight shrug. "I, er, actually brought some food just in case. The Ministry canteen has decent sandwiches, but if you have your own food, I can save the other for later." He'd had time to think that through while he looked for her office.

His breath caught in his throat when he realized what she was looking at- questioning, even. He hoped she didn't mind chapped lips, because that's what the cold did to his and it he had suddenly gone far too long without kissing her. "Um," he responded, before closing the distance between them in a few strides and setting the sandwich bag on her desk. He then promptly pulled her to him with a hand on the small of her back and kissed her firmly.

[rar_hestia]

"Yes. Terribly creative beasts, aren't they?" Hestia said playfully. She was pleased to hear he had planned ahead, but it didn't particularly surprise her. "I was going to get something from the tea room, actually, but I'd love to share sandwiches with you. Thank you."

Percy got a rather odd look on his face when she asked him about his chapped lips. She was about to offer him some of her favourite lip balm, mint flavoured and very soothing, when he crossed her small office and pulled her into a kiss. Hestia didn't mind the change of events at all, and she dug her fingers in his hair, mussing it up, as her tongue sought his.

[rar_percy]

Percy sighed into the kiss, a part of his brain yelling at him that they were in the workplace. The other five eights of his brain said it was her lunch break, and her mouth tasted sweet and hot and she was kissing him back with equal fervor.

"Mm," he said when he finally broke off, "Should I pick up some lip balm?" he asked, and ducked his head for another taste of her lips. The week and two days (well, one point five) had felt like much longer, and Percy wondered if he'd be able to function better now that he'd kissed her again. He thought it through and realized that that wasn't very logical. He found, for once, that he didn't quite care.

"Do you like turkey or roast beef?" he asked when he had caught his breath.

[rar_hestia]

Hestia really hoped that none of the interns decided to bother her now. Because she found she couldn't quite care what was happening outside her little office. Percy tasted minty and cool, and she suspected that he'd sucked on some peppermints before coming over.

"No need," she replied, a little breathlessly and fumbled in her desk drawer. She turned back to him with a small pot of lip balm. "I always keep extras around during winter. It's made by one of the better apothecaries. And it's minty," she added, knowing he'd appreciate that.

When he asked her which sandwich she'd like, Hestia smiled, and reached up to stroke his cheek with her thumb. "I don't particularly care, in all honesty." If he'd brought her a liverwurst and sardine sandwich, she would have eaten it.

[rar_percy]

"I like mint," Percy said, intelligently, accepting the little pot. He unscrewed the cap and smeared a bit of it on his lips. "Thank you," he said. She stroked his cheek and he flushed under the gentle touch, adjusting his glasses. He kicked himself mentally for being embarrassed- he could, apparently, walk into her office and start to ravish her, but when she showed a bit of affection back, he got all red.

"Turkey it is," he decided, transfiguring some emergency parchment from his robe into plates and setting the turkey sandwich on one for Hestia. "Oh. I didn't think to ask- would you like to eat in here, or would you rather go to the canteen? I'm sorry, that was rude of me."

[rar_hestia]

"I'd noticed," Hestia said with a grin. He began to flush in that adorable way of his and she removed her hand, deciding she'd embarrassed him enough for now.

She moved her case files aside so they wouldn't get any food on them as Percy handily transfigured two plates for them to eat off of. "I'd much rather eat in here with you. No snogging in the tea room, after all," she said before biting into her turkey sandwich. "Mmm...this is tasty. So, anything interesting happen this morning?"

[rar_percy]

Percy grinned faintly and shook his head when she said there was no snogging in the tea room. He was starting to learn that she was usually that forward, but he liked it.

They sat down by her desk, Percy looking around her office for the first time. He'd been too busy looking at her, he supposed, but the office sort of reminded him of her flat. It smelled good, too, which was odd for a hospital. He liked it. He took a bite of his food and thought about her question. "Glad you like the sandwich. Hm, interesting? Well, I happened to be walking by some offices in Accidents Reversal, where there was a fire- very ironic. It didn't get very big, thankfully. I don't really think that kind of thing bothers them, though. Other than that, it was business as usual, which I'm not complaining about. How about you?"

[rar_hestia]

"That is terribly ironic," Hestia said with a smile. She reached into her lower desk drawer and pulled out two bottles of butterbeer which she tapped with her wand to cool them. "My day's been fairly regular so far; a very angry eight-year old swore at me and tried to kick me, but other than that it's been fairly boring. Oh! But I did have tea with Neville Longbottom yesterday. That was nice. He's creating hybrid plants, did you know? Fascinating, really."

[rar_percy]

"Thank you," Percy said, accepting the butterbeer. Why hadn't he thought of drinks? "You are very prepared today," he complimented. He smiled, enjoying himself. He found he liked talking with her and owling her as much as he liked kissing her. Which was a lot all around.

"Do you usually have angry children trying to hurt you?" he asked mildly. It couldn't be a pleasant thing to endure every day. He frowned and shook his head. "No, I hadn't heard about that. Ginny doesn't talk about him much anymore. Well, she doesn't talk about much of anything lately. That does sound fascinating. Did you just happen by him yesterday, or something?"

[rar_hestia]

Hestia shook her head. "I always have some butterbeer on hand. Sometimes it's just what a sick child needs at 4 am. Or what a tired Healer needs," she acknowledged with a smile

[rar_percy]

"See? Very prepared," he said, and took a sip of his drink

[rar_hestia]

Hestia reached over and took his hand, caressing it gently. "You will be. It's obvious that you care a lot about your family, you just have to give them a bit of time to realize it too." She squeezed his hand tightly when he mentioned his brother's death. "She seems to have your mother's spirit in her, so I know she'll be fine," Hestia said confidently.

"He's very talented. He's going to bring me some plants for the kids - they change colour when you sing or hum. And he bred those! Isn't that amazing?"

[rar_percy]

Percy couldn't help but abandon his bottle and turn his palm into her comforting one, curling his fingers around hers. "Thanks. It's tough sometimes, but it's better than it was. Now it's just the distance and the trust that is an issue," he said, knowing it must sound vague, but trusting that she either wouldn't mind or would simply ask him to explain. "I think she'll be fine, too. It's been hard seeing her so ... broken. But she went to school when we weren't sure she would, so I can't believe that she's not trying. And I'm proud of her for that."

"Wow, that does sound amazing. And perfect for the kids, too- how generous of him."